News

Canada’s existing buildings hold key to climate targets

8/2017 - Governments at all levels in Canada are moving toward requiring new buildings to be low-carbon and energy-efficient. But Canada still lacks a comprehensive strategy to achieve significant reductions in carbon emissions from existing buildings. Read the joint media release by Pembina Institute and The Atmospheric Fund.

New TAF research reveals carbon impact of electricity conservation

8/2017 - Quantifying the emissions impact of electricity consumption - and conservation efforts - is crucial for planning climate actions, whether it's a government policy or upgrades and behaviour shifts at home. TAF's latest research greatly improves such quantifications.

Left in the dark: Ontario municipalities need energy data for meaningful climate action

8/2017 - A proper carbon emissions inventory is a crucial starting point for city-level climate action. But unfortunately, many cities in the Greater Toronto and Hamilton Area (GTHA), don't have gas and electricity consumption data - but utilities do. That's why TAF asked the Ontario government to make this data public.

The power of the neighbourhood approach

7/2017 - When it comes to public projects, does our big-thinking habit get in the way of excellence implementation as we fail to consider local-level impacts and aspirations? Our VP Mary Pickering looks at best practices from recent transit projects in Ontario.

TAF CEO receives Ministerial Award for Environmental Excellence

7/2017 - Julia Langer, CEO of The Atmospheric Fund recently received the Ontario Minister's Award for Environmental Excellence. The award for the life-long environmentalist comes at the heels of last year's award for TAF's TowerWise project.

Toronto renews climate leadership with unanimous TransformTO vote; collaboration key for plan’s success

7/2017 - The Atmospheric Fund (TAF), project co-lead for TransformTO, welcomes City Council's unanimous approval of the ambitious climate plan. We now call on the provincial and federal governments to help us refine, fund, and implement it.

A big thank-you for TransformTO advisors as Council vote nears

6/2017 - Just one year ago, a diverse set of experts started working together to advise the TransformTO project - the Modelling Advisory Group. As the climate plan nears a vote by City Council, it was time to say thank-you.

New Pembina research suggests how to put the brakes on rising freight emissions

6/2017 - Carbon emissions from Canada's freight sector are on the rise, especially trucks. A new report lays out policy tools to bring down emissions from a sector that's not on the radar of many policymakers when it comes to climate action.

Green building summit pushes the envelope on net-zero carbon buildings

6/2017 - TAF's Building Research Manager Ekaterina Tzekova recently attended the CaGBC's annual conference in Vancouver. Here are her key takeaways. This year’s conference focused on actionable solutions to climate change and included the unveiling of the new Zero Carbon Building standard.

New report shows uptake potential, barriers to electric vehicle adoption in the GTHA

6/2017 - A new TAF-funded study by our ally Plug'n Drive shows that there's major potential for electric vehicles (EVs) in the GTHA. But the survey also found a lack of awareness of Ontario's EV purchase incentives and misconceptions about EVs.

TransformTO vote delayed until July

6/2017 - The TransformTO climate plan was scheduled to reach Toronto's City Council on May 25. But due to an overflowing agenda, this important item has been rescheduled to July 5. Project co-chair Mary Pickering gives a detailed update.

TAF launches new Building Energy Efficiency Policy Calculator

5/2017 - Cities across Canada want to bring down carbon emissions from buildings. But what's the right policy mix to increase energy efficiency? The Building Energy Efficiency Policy Calculator (BEE-Cal for short) gives municipal planners a nifty tool for policy planning around energy efficiency.